Maintenance Management Software, CMMS

Software Tips

What is maintenance?

Maintenance refers to all measures taken to ensure the operational readiness and functionality of systems or objects. Systems can be machines, production facilities, construction elements, buildings or infrastructures, for example.

Maintenance includes not only servicing, but also other activities such as inspections, repairs, overhauls, improvements and replacements. The definition of maintenance can be found in EN 13306. EN 13306 divides maintenance into two categories: preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance.

What is meant by maintenance?

Maintenance refers to the regular checking, inspection, cleaning, adjustment and, if necessary, repair of systems to ensure their proper functioning and performance. Maintenance work is usually carried out at predetermined intervals to prevent potential breakdowns and ensure safety, extend the service life of the equipment and maximize its efficiency.

There are different types of maintenance, including preventive maintenance, which involves carrying out planned inspections and maintenance work to identify and rectify problems before they occur, and corrective maintenance, which aims to resolve problems that have already occurred.

What is meant by inspection?

An inspection in the context of maintenance refers to the systematic review of plant, machinery or equipment to assess its condition, performance and safety. During an inspection, various aspects such as wear, damage, functionality, leaks, lubrication and other relevant parameters are checked.

Inspections serve to identify potential problems at an early stage before they can lead to major failures or safety risks. They are carried out at regular intervals in accordance with a predefined inspection plan. The results of an inspection can be used to plan maintenance measures to keep the systems in optimum condition and minimize unplanned downtime.

What is meant by maintenance?

Maintenance refers to the repair or restoration to working order of plant, machinery or equipment that is defective, malfunctioning or damaged. In contrast to preventive maintenance, which is intended to prevent problems in advance, repair is a reactive measure. It is required when a problem has already occurred.

Repair can include various measures. These include the replacement of defective parts, the repair of damaged components, the readjustment of mechanisms or the restoration of functionality after a failure. The aim of maintenance is to restore the systems to an operational state as quickly as possible in order to minimize production downtime or other disruptions.

Maintenance work can be both planned and unplanned. Planned repairs can be carried out due to foreseeable wear or ageing of components, while unplanned repairs must be carried out in response to unforeseen failures or faults.

What is meant by improvement?

In the context of maintenance, improvements are measures aimed at increasing the performance, reliability, efficiency or safety of plant, machinery or equipment. In contrast to pure repair, improvement measures aim to optimize or expand existing systems.

Improvements in maintenance can take various forms, including:

• Technological upgrades
• Process optimization
Preventive measures Training and qualification measures

What is preventive maintenance?

Preventive maintenance, also known as preventive maintenance, is a strategy for maintaining plant or machinery that aims to prevent potential failures and problems before they occur. Preventive maintenance includes, among other things:

• Regular inspections
• Maintenance work
• Parts replacement

What is corrective maintenance?

Corrective maintenance comprises activities that are carried out to rectify a failure or malfunction that has already occurred on a system or machine. This includes, among other things

• Fault detection
• Diagnosis
• Troubleshooting
• Preventive measures

Maintenance planner or CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems)

Maintenance planners or CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems) are software solutions that are used for the efficient management of maintenance processes in companies. These systems automate and simplify the planning, execution and monitoring of maintenance work on systems, machines and other equipment.

Examples of tasks for maintenance planners or CMMS

Maintenance planning

Maintenance planners support the definition of maintenance plans for various systems and equipment. They make it possible to define maintenance intervals, schedule maintenance work and allocate resources such as manpower, materials and tools.

Maintenance order management

CMMS help with the creation, assignment and tracking of maintenance orders. They record maintenance requests, prioritize orders, assign them to the appropriate employees or teams and track the progress of the work.

Inventory and spare parts management

Maintenance planners typically include functions for managing spare parts, materials and consumables required for maintenance work. They assist with inventory tracking, parts reordering and stock management to ensure that the right parts are available at the right time.

Working time recording

CMMS record labor hours and costs for maintenance activities, including hours worked, overtime and other costs. They enable accurate billing of maintenance work and monitoring of employee performance.

Documentation and reporting

Maintenance planners support the comprehensive documentation of maintenance activities, including work carried out, materials used, working times and costs. They generate reports and analyses to monitor the performance of maintenance processes, identify trends and highlight potential for improvement.

Procedure for selecting an IPS, maintenance planner or computerized maintenance management system

1. Current analysis, definition of the scope of functions, preparation of the specifications or the invitation to tender
   • Determine the project team
   • Determine goal, timeframe and budget
   • Formulate requirements for the software
   • Define functional scope and interfaces (must-have, nice-to-have)
   • Create specifications or tender documents
2. Market research
   • Get an overview of relevant software solutions
3. Pre-selection
   • Pre-selection of solutions with must-have and nice-to-have functions and interfaces
   • Presentation of three favorite solutions
4. Evaluation and final selection
   • Make an assessment
   • Make the final selection

Tips for selecting software for maintenance, IPS, CMMS and servicing

• Check whether the software offers options for assigning images, operating instructions and manuals to all machines and systems.
• Does the software support augmented reality (AR)? This support generally allows technicians to complete their assignments more quickly, as instructions and checklists are displayed directly in their field of vision and do not have to be searched for on an additional device (e.g. tablet, laptop, etc.).
• Does the software offer automatic reminders for scheduled maintenance or servicing?
• How are the software's filter options designed? Can you filter by machine type, location, plant group, cost center or, for example, by a predefined category?
• What evaluations and reports does the software offer? Are the reports and evaluations clearly laid out? Is there, for example, an interface or an export option for transferring the data to an Excel pivot table?
• Can mobile barcode scanners or smartphones with a barcode app be used to record, recognize and assign machines and systems?
• Pay attention to the license model when selecting maintenance software! What does the license cover? Are all modules and functions of the software included or are different modules charged separately?
• Is the software user-friendly and can it be tailored to your needs? The tool should offer clarity and be easy to use. For example, is a dashboard available for an up-to-date view of upcoming work?
• The software should be fully network-compatible as well as multi-client capable and support team collaboration.
• Does the software offer interfaces to merchandise management or ERP? Maintenance and servicing usually involves the replacement of parts on machines and systems. An interface to ERP can make the procurement of spare parts more efficient.